英語聽書《白鯨記》第483期

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Chapter 46 Surmises

第四十六章 臆測

Though, consumed with the hot fire of his purpose, Ahab in all his thoughts and actions ever had in view theultimate capture of Moby Dick; though he seemed ready to saCRIfice all mortal interests to that one passion;nevertheless it may have been that he was by nature and long habituation far too wedded to a fiery whaleman's ways, altogether to abandon the collateral prosecution of the voyage. Or at least if this were otherwise, there were not wanting other motives much more influential with him. It would be refining too much, perhaps,even considering his monomania, to hint that his vindictiveness towards the White Whale might have possibly extended itself in some degree to all sperm whales, and that the more monsters he slew by so much the more he multiplied the chances that each subsequently encountered whale would prove to be the hated one he hunted.But if such an hypothesis be indeed exceptionable, there were still additional considerations which, though not so strictly according with the wildness of his ruling passion, yet were by no means incapable of swayinghim.

亞哈雖然給他那目的的熱火弄得心勞神疲，可他整個思想和行動總是指望最后能夠捉住莫比－迪克。雖然他為了要達到那個熱望，似乎準備隨時犧牲一切重大的利益，然而，他的天性和積習也許太過于墨守彪悍的捕鯨者的舊規(guī)，因而無法放棄這趟航程的附帶工作。或者至少如果不是這樣，那就是他心里還縈繞著更多的其它一些意圖。不過，即使就他那種偏熱癥說來，說他對于白鯨的報復心理可能會多少擴大到一切抹香鯨，說他越多殺巨獸，就越增加機會，因為這樣一條條的殺下去，最后的一條鯨就會是他所要獵擊的可恨的鯨了，這種說法，也許未免太過分了些。但是，如果這樣的假定確實是可加非議的，那么還可以另外提出許多值得考慮的事實來，這些事實，雖不能說是跟他那帶有狂性的主要激情完全一致，然而，也決不是不能左右他的。

To accomplish his object Ahab must use tools; and of all tools used in the shadow of the moon, men are most apt to get out of order. He knew, for example, that however magnetic his ascendency in some respects was over Starbuck, yet that ascendency did not cover the complete spiritual man any more than mere corporeal superiority involves intellectual mastership; for to the purely spiritual, the intellectual but stand in a sort ofcorporeal relation. Starbuck's body and Starbuck's coerced will were Ahab's, so long as Ahab kept his magnetat Starbuck's brain; still he knew that for all this the chief mate, in his soul, abhorred his captain's quest, and could he, would joyfully disintegrate himself from it, or even frustrate it. It might be that a longinterval would elapse ere the White Whale was seen. During that long interval Starbuck would ever be apt to fall into open relapses of rebellion against his captain's leadership, unless some ordinary, prudential, circumstantial influences were brought to bear upon him.

為了達到目的，亞哈就必須使用工具，而在世間所能使用的一切工具中，人卻是最會出亂子的。比如說，他知道，盡管在某些方面說來，他對斯達巴克具有很大的駕馭魅力，然而，那種駕馭力，并未能控制一個人的整個精神，正如光靠肉體上的優(yōu)勢并不就等于可以在智力上控制別人一樣。因為就純粹的精神說來，智力不過是同肉體有關的一種東西而已。只要亞哈的魅力能夠始終存在斯達巴克的腦子里，斯達巴克的身體，斯達巴克的受到強制的意志便都是亞哈的了。然而，他也知道，盡管是這樣，這個大副，在靈魂深處，是嫌惡他的船長這種搜索鯨魚的計劃的，如果他辦得到的話，他一定極愿意擺脫這種計劃，或者甚至會破壞這種計劃。等到發(fā)現(xiàn)白鯨還得有一大段時間，在這漫長的時間中，如果不給斯達巴克一種正常的，小心細致的，相機而行的影響，他準會隨時公開反抗他的船長的領導。